Pakistan's political crisis continues to deepen. The actions of the main players in the political drama in Pakistan seem to be full of confusion and contradiction, as each is trying to maneuver in the present chaotic situation to come out on top. Without lifting the Emergency or restoring the judges whom he had removed from the Supreme Court, Musharraf has declared that elections will be held in January 2008. As a sign of his “good faith”, he has ordered the release of hundreds of activists whom he had jailed in the first days of the Emergency, and also allowed his sworn enemy Nawaz Sharif, whom he had prevented from returning to Pakistan just two months ago, to come back. Benazir Bhutto is still keeping her options open about whether to keep a door open to Musharraf and strike a deal to become Prime Minister under his Presidency, or to throw in her lot with a coalition of opposition parties. Nawaz Sharif and other opposition figures meanwhile are talking of boycotting the elections as long as Emergency regulations continue to be in force.

In the meantime, lawyers, journalists, students, activists and others have been coming out in protests every day, and getting mercilessly beaten up and thrown into jails by the security forces that are fully utilising all the powers given to them under the Emergency.

In the northwestern region of the country bordering Afghanistan, military operations against the local people by the Pakistan armed forces, acting as part of the US-led “war against terrorism”, have been going full steam ahead. The army has massed nearly 20,000 troops backed by tanks and artillery for a major offensive in the Swat district aimed at wresting control of this district from the people. Whole villages that have refused to surrender or cooperate with the army have been ruthlessly bombed, and many villagers, including children, have been killed. These operations are arousing ever wider anger against the authorities, which the Musharraf regime is trying to label as “extremism” and “terrorism”. The military establishment and its personnel were the targets of two bomb attacks in Rawalpindi on November 24.

The spiralling crisis in Pakistan cannot be viewed in isolation, but is very much part of the destabilisation of a broad region of Western, Central and South Asia caused by the rampaging US political and military presence in this part of the world. The US is using its “war against terrorism” to establish its dictate and strengthen its control over the countries of this strategic and resource-rich region. Through its reactionary rulers, Pakistan has been sucked into US designs in this region for many years, with the latest development being its position as a “frontline state” in the “war against terror” especially with respect to neighbouring Afghanistan. The people of Pakistan want freedom and democratic rights, they want social and economic progress, but the agenda of their country is being manipulated by the US imperialists and their allies. George Bush's patronising statements on Musharraf and the developments in Pakistan, the despatching of the American Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte to 'advise' Musharraf in the midst of the crisis, all point to the arrogance of the US imperialists as well as their intriguing in Pakistan's affairs.

There is a very great danger that the US imperialists will use the excuse and the opportunity provided by a crisis-ridden Pakistan to intervene even more directly in that country. Reports have appeared in the American press of various military “options” that are being considered by the Americans in the context of an “unstable” Pakistan, to escalate the war on Pakistan's side of the border with Afghanistan as well as to take control of its nuclear establishment. While the spokespersons of the US government publicly talk of the need for “democracy” in that country, plans are afoot to further deprive the people of Pakistan of their sovereignty. The people of Pakistan must be vigilant and alert to this danger, while they continue their struggle against the tyrannical regime for their democratic rights.

The developments in Pakistan should be an eye-opener to those Indians who are extremely eager to embrace US imperialism as a strategic ally. US imperialism is no friend of any people in the world, and its role in Pakistan is clear proof of this. It is extremely important that the patriotic and anti-imperialist people of both Pakistan and India unitedly oppose US imperialism and its growing penetration in this region.